IOR/L/PS/20/C104/1

‘SEISTAN. A MEMOIR ON THE HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, RUINS AND PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY. IN FOUR PARTS. PARTS I to III’ (Calcutta [Kolkata]: Superintendent Government Printing, India, 1910) by George Passman Tate.

Parts I to III are an account of Seistan [Sistan]. It is based on a study of the history of Khurassan [Khorasan, an historic region covering present day northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan], and on observation and information collected during a visit of the Seistan Boundary Commission of 1903-05 under Sir Arthur McMahon. Please note Part IV is in a separate volume and has been catalogued as IOR/L/PS/20/C104/2.

Part I (ff 4-62) is titled ‘The History of Seistan’. This is divided into five chapters and details the history of Seistan and surrounding regions, covering the period from 531 AD to the time of writing in 1903-05. It describes the rulers of Seistan and their families, and events such as invasions and battles with some references to ruins and topography. The fifth chapter is erroneously labelled ‘Chapter IV’. At the end of Part I is an appendix of four plates of the genealogy of the Kaiani [Kīyānī] Princes of Seistan (ff 63-65).

Part II (ff 66-111) is titled ‘The Topography of Seistan’. This is divided into six chapters and includes information on hydrology, hydrography, irrigation, and canal systems. There are also chapters covering the deltas of the Farah, Khash and Helmand rivers, and Lake Hamun.

Part III (ff 114-175) is titled ‘The Ruins in Seistan’. This is divided into seventeen chapters and covers the following:

• ‘Sources of Information.’, including the authors Ibn-i-Rusteh [Abū 'Alī Aḥmad Ibn Rustah Iṣfahānī] and Al Istakhri [Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm bin Muḥammad al-Fārisī al-Iṣṭakhrī]
• ‘The names by which Seistan has been known.’
• ‘Coins, seals and intaglios, etc.’
• Detailed descriptions of a number of different ruins and ruined cities
• ‘The later capitals and towns of Seistan.’
• Trade routes from Seistan to surrounding areas including the Persian Gulf.